He was with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ until, when they were on part of the road to Mecca, he stayed behind with some companions of his who were in a state of ihram, while he himself was not in ihram. He saw a wild donkey and mounted his horse, then asked his companions to hand him his whip, but they refused. He asked them for his spear, but they refused. So he took it himself, charged at the donkey, and killed it.Some of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ate from it, while others refused. When they caught up with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, they asked him about it, and he said, "It is simply food that Allah has provided for you to eat."
أنه كان مع رسول الله ﷺ حتى إذا كانوا ببعض طريق مكة تخلف مع أصحاب له محرمين وهو غير محرم فرأى حمارا وحشيا فاستوى على فرسه فسأل أصحابه أن يناولوه سوطه فأبوا عليه فسألهم رمحه فأبوا فأخذه، ثم شد على الحمار فقتله فأكل منه بعض أصحاب رسول الله ﷺ، وأبى بعضهم، فلما أدركوا رسول الله ﷺ سألوه عن ذلك، فقال: إنما هي طعمة أطعمكموها الله.
Malik narrated it in the Hajj (76) from Abu Nadr, the freed slave of Umar bin Ubaydullah Taymi, from Nafi, the freed slave of Abu Qatada Ansari, from Abu Qatada, and he related it.Malik said, and from Zayd bin Aslam, that Ata bin Yasar informed him, from Abu Qatada, regarding the wild donkey, similar to the hadith of Abu Nadr, except that in the hadith of Zayd bin Aslam, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Do you have any of its meat with you."Bukhari narrated it in the jihad (2914), and Muslim in the Hajj (1196, 57, 58), both of them through the route of Malik, and he related it likewise.